Sunday, April 30, 2017

Writing for Children &
for Young Adults ~ the world’s hottest marketSee current listings for Writing Kid Lit weekly classes and one-day Saturday workshops here. See Brian Henry's complete current schedule of classes and workshops here.

This
workshop is also offered Saturday, May 27, in St.
Catharines, with Anne Shone, senior editor, Scholastic Books (seehere), and Saturday, Aug 12, in Collingwood, with Monica Pacheco, literary agent with the McDermid Agency (see here).

If you want to write the next
best-selling children’s books or
just want to create stories for your own kids, this workshop is for you. Learn
how to write stories kids and young adults will love and find out what you need
to know to sell your book.

Special option:You
may, but don't have to, bring 3 copies of the opening pages (first
500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel (or 1,000 words if that
will get you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first
chapter.) If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry,
we’ll get you started on the spot!

Guest speaker Yasemin Uçaris a Senior Editor at Kids Can Press. Yasemin has been a children’s book editor for close to twenty years. She worked at Scholastic Canada before moving to London, UK, in 2001, where she worked as a Senior Editor at Piccadilly Press. In 2006, she moved back to Toronto and worked as a freelance editor for a number of years before joining Kids Can Press in 2012.

Yasemin has worked with many popular and award-winning authors and illustrators, including internationally bestselling author Louise Rennison, Ashley Spires, Barbara Coloroso and Caroline Adderson.

Guest speakerJennifer Mook-Sanggrew up on the shores of tropical Guyana and moved to Canada when she was fourteen. She lived an ordinary life in search of treasure until she found the beginnings of a story in one of Brian Henry's classes. That story grew into the humorous middle-grade novelSpeechless,published by Scholastic in 2015.

Speechless was shortlisted for many awards, and recommended by the Ontario Library Association, the Canadian Childrens’ Book Centre, the CBC, and the TD Summer Reading Club.

Her picture bookCaptain Monty Takes the Plunge will be released in the fall of 2017 by Kids Can Press.

Jennifer enjoys visiting schools and libraries to talk about the three RRRs - Reading, wRiting and procRastination. She loves sunshine and sand and, though quite fond of the letter “R,” her favourite letter has always been “the C.” Jennifer lives in Burlington, Ontario. You can find out more about her athttp://jennifermooksang.com/.Speechless is available online here.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers and is the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing). But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published.Workshop fee: 43.36 + 13% hst =49 + $6 for pizza lunch = $55

paid in advance by mail or in person

or 46.90 + 13% hst = 53 + $6 for pizza lunch =$59at the door

To pay in advance, make your cheque out to the Caledon Public Library, and mail it to:

Friday, April 28, 2017

For as long as I can remember, they’ve always been
there. As we left Maynooth, usually after stopping for gas and an ice cream on the
first long weekend of summer, we’d see them dangling by their laces from the
telephone wire above the only road that led into and out of town – a pair of denim
blue sneakers. They were a family landmark.

My parents had bought
the cottage 25 years before. It was a homecoming of sorts for my dad. He was born
in the backcountry of the Barry’s Bay hills to Polish immigrants enticed to
Canada by the promise of farmland if they were willing to clear the treed
terrain. After the end of the war, my dad left Barry’s Bay for Toronto to start
fresh, establishing a general contracting business and marrying my mom – a city
girl from Montreal assigned to write my father, a stranger, as part of the war
effort.

My parents surprised us
one night after Sunday dinner as my mom was clearing our plates from the table.
“We bought a place on Kaminiskeg,” my father said matter-of-factly.

My three sisters and
brother – all in our teens or early twenties – looked forward to the parties
we’d host and the indoor plumbing the cottage had, unlike the our grandfather’s
house closer to town where, as kids, we’d spent most of our time in Barry’s Bay.

As the Friday night
drive up north became more familiar, we would note the usual landmarks guiding
our travel north: the chicken coop near leaning dangerously toward the ground outside
of the town of Burleigh Falls, the sign announcing the town of Bancroft, the
last major town on route 62 before our destination. Then between here and there,
the town of Maynooth, and finally, as we exited town, the dangling sneakers.

Maynooth wasn’t a place
to write home about. Highway 62 was the main road in and out of this town,
which had a gas station, an ice cream bar, and the shoes. My older sister, ever
the authority, would say matter-of-factly that a drunken man had pitched them up
there in a stupor one night walking home from the Legion.

My younger and more
mischievous brother imagined a kid like himself taking revenge on a school
bully, launching his coveted Chuck Taylors over the line. My dad dryly said
some lad was keeping them there for safekeeping until he needed them again. We
all had our theories.

The shoes were always a
topic of conversation as we gassed up and hit the black top, anxious to make
the final stretch to the lake. The first one to see them would squeal, “They’re
still there!” as we rode underneath the phone line stretching above the highway.
On our first trip up every the spring, the shoes were always a highly coveted
sighting.

This tradition continued
as we invited our friends up to the cottage for parentless weekends. We had
gotten used to the shoes hanging on that wire, convinced they weren’t ever
going away. The shoes took on an air of nostalgia as we entertained our friends
with theories of their origin. The shoes became an omen of good things to come
at the cottage and the omen was rarely wrong.

Those shoes on the
telephone wire outlasted my dad who stopped going up to the cottage soon after
his ALS diagnosis as he became frailer and less mobile. I’d visit him in his
care home and report that the shoes were still on the line in Maynooth.

St. Hedwig's, Barrry's Bay, Ontario

Always a man of few
words and with a disease robbing him of his body but not his mind, he’d get a twinkle
in his eye, and with a slow shake of his head in disbelief, he’d erupt into
uncontrollable laughter.

The shoes were on the
wire on his final journey home to the cemetery in Barry’s Bay.

Nearly 25 years since we
first packed up the cars on a Friday night, I’m still making the trip to
Barry’s Bay, now with my two girls riding in the back seat.

Freda shouts, “Are we
stopping at the store?” She means the ice cream store in Maynooth and she
already knows the answer – they just have to promise to save room for grandma’s
chicken noodle soup, which will be warm on the stove when we arrive. Monica
giggles and the twinkle in her eye is the same as her grandfather’s.

As we drive out of town
with chocolate-stained lips and sticky hands, we anticipate our usual landmark.
The three of us are dumfounded as we cross under the telephone wire. The girls turn
their little bodies around quickly to get a second look out the back of the
truck at the empty wire. I peer at them in the rearview mirror and our wide
eyes meet as the girls turn back toward me. They shoes are gone.

“I guess he finally came
back and got them!” I tell my girls.

Pausing, uncertain if I’m
kidding, they at last erupt into giggles. We start a new tradition that day, exchanging
stories of what happens to the shoes next.

Christine Maika is an Improvement Lead with the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare
Improvement. In her work, she advocates for health system redesign informed by
the lived experience of patients and their families, often shared through
storytelling and other engagement techniques.
She is an editor and contributing author of a book released in December
2016 titled Patient Engagement –
Catalyzing Improvement and Innovation in Healthcare. Christine is
completing her Master’s in Public Health part-time and lives in Ottawa.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in
your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to
your Inbox. ~ Brian

Marie Lamba is the author
of the picture book Green Green (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017), of the upcoming
picture book A Day So Gray (Clarion), and
of the young adult novels What I Meant…
(Random House), Over My Head, and Drawn.

Her articles are in more than 100
publications, and she’s a frequent contributor to Writer’s Digest. She has worked as an editor, an award-winning
public relations writer, and a book publicist, has taught classes on novel
writing and on author promotion, and belongs to The Liars Club.

QBF: On
The Jennifer De Chiara Agency's website, you express interest in Middle Grade
and Young Adult books with a STEM tie-in. Can you expand on that?

Marie: STEM
stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. When fiction ties into
one of these areas, it adds a dimension to the work that really appeals to
schools and libraries, because they are looking for books that encourage kids
to nurture these skills. Books with a hook – meaning they have something about
them that easily draws people to them – tend to sell better. But more
importantly, a STEM tie-in is so helpful to kids who are interested in these
topics. They love to see themselves reflected in literature in a positive way.
This is especially important for girls because we need more girls in these
fields.

Some great
examples of STEM tie-in books I represent? Check out The
Friendship Experiment(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), a debut
middle grade novel by Erin Teagan about a science-loving girl struggling to
find the perfect formula for her mixed up life. Also, give a look at To the Stars! (Charlesbridge), a picture
book written by Carmella Van Vleet and Dr. Kathy Sullivan, illustrated by
Nicole Wong, which is about Dr. Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in
space!

QBF: Also, you mention looking for MG and YA
novels with diverse points of view. What sorts of voices are you hoping
to find in submissions?

Marie: I’m a
strong believer in representing all voices and points of view in literature.
That means representing stories with folks from diverse races, LGBQT people,
various religious backgrounds and nationalities, as well as people with
disabilities.

My own kids are of mixed race, and I never saw mixed kids
represented as heroes in stories, so as an author myself, I wrote two young
adult novels that did just that: What I Meant…(Random House), and Over My Head. The response that I got from mixed kids around
the world was moving – they really appreciated seeing themselves reflected in
books.

QBF: Any other books you’re especially looking
for? Anything you see too much of or that seems overdone these days?

Marie: I’ve
definitely seen enough of the snotty popular teenage character and her crew
ruling high school type of books. Do we really only care about being popular?
Or about snagging that hot popular guy who seems shallow but secretly has a
heart of gold? Instead, I’d love to see more young adult novels that are
nuanced and that reflect the complexities of what teens really go through these
days.

I’d also love
more heartfelt middle grade novels that make me laugh but that also make me
tear up and ache for the main character.

And I’d love
to find works that reveal true heroes – stories that we can all be inspired by. Oh, and some fun middle grade fantasy that
doesn’t feel like a copycat of something already out there.

QBF: Can you tell us about your process when
you’re considering a project…

Marie: Sure!
First comes the query letter. Is it well-written, and does it draw me in?
Honestly, if a writer can create a one page letter that is compelling, then I’m
not going to have faith in their work.

Next, and
only if I’m interested in what the query said, I’ll read the 20 pages pasted in
below the query (my guidelines allow that). Often I’ll lose interest within
just a few lines, simply because the writing isn’t of good quality.

But, if I
zoom through those pages and I’m longing to find out what happens next, I’ll Google
the writer to make sure what I find online is professional and positive. If I
find that the writer has nasty posts bashing agents, editors or writers, or I
find the author is in some way offensive online, then I’ll reject that person. Remember,
I have to work with them over the long term. But if everything looks good, I’ll
ask for the full manuscript.

If the full
not only lives up to its promise, but completely wows me (and it feels like the
type of project I know I can help the writer with and market to commercial
publishers), I’ll schedule a call with the writer to chat with them about their
goals and expectations. If we seem to be on the same page, then I’ll offer
representation.

QBF: Are there things you come across in query
letters or manuscripts that will get them immediately rejected? If so, what are
a few of them?

Marie: Yes! I
think all of these are no-brainers. Like
if the writer is obnoxious, saying they know agents are all greedy and not
interested in quality, or they include anything rude and unprofessional. If the
writer doesn’t address me by name (then I know it’s a cut and paste to
everyone), or says things like Dear Agent, or even Dear Sirs! Whenever a writer
sends out a query to all agents in the world (all cc’d), I delete without
reading it.

If the writer
includes attachments, makes the query itself an attachment, or asks me to look
at online links rather than giving me a query. Also, poor grammar and sloppy
writing is, of course, a no-no. As is sending me things that I specifically say
in my guidelines that I don’t represent.

QBF: How do you decide if a manuscript is worth
considering?

Marie: I’m
drawn in by the description, and then? The writing really adds to my interest
and excitement. If I feel lost in the writer’s world and just have to see more,
then I know there might be something special there.

QBF: How many pages do you usually read before
you give up on a manuscript?

Marie: It varies.
Terrible writing can stop me within a line or two. Wonderful writing can pull
me through the initial 20 pages and get me to request the full, but sadly, the
majority of manuscripts do tend to lose my interest by around 50 pages in. I
suspect that writers spend so much time polishing their initial chapters, but
everyone should really pay attention to pacing and structure throughout so that
the quality shows up on every page.

QBF: Besides the writing and publishing
credentials – and loving their work, of course – is there anything else you
like to know before you decide to represent an author? Do you like to meet
with prospective authors?

Marie: I have
clients all over the world, some of whom I’ve never met (but would love to some
day!). But if I’m interested, I always connect with a writer over the phone
before offering representation. I want to make sure that they are cooperative
and open to edits, and that they know they must take a role in marketing their
own writing online and in person. I also want to understand what they’re
looking for in an agent and to see that their professional expectations are
realistic. Also, I want to be sure that we click, since we’ll be partners for,
hopefully, a long time in their career.

QBF: Can you tell us something about how you
work with authors….

Marie: As an
author myself, I take an author’s career very seriously. I know we writers want
to know what’s going on in the background, so I always let my clients know when
things have gone out, to whom, and I share editor responses as they come in.
Communication is so important, so I really try to keep my clients in the loop.

QBF: How much editorial work do you do with your
clients?

Marie: I’m
extremely editorial, which means that if a novel needs work, I’ll point out
specifics that need attention, as well as offer up suggestions. I work closely
with my authors in order to make sure that submissions are in their very best
form before going on submission to editors. While this takes a lot of time on
my end, it’s proven very worthwhile, and editors have reacted so positively to
submissions that I’m happy to put in the time on this aspect.

QBF: Can you tell us something about how you
pitch to publishers. Do you make preliminary editing suggestions to your
authors before pitching the work to a publisher?

Marie: Once
the manuscript is in tip-top shape and I’ve worked with the author to create an
appealing brief synopsis and a tight author bio, I next spend time shaping my
verbal pitch. Sometimes this takes me days to get just right. It’s so important
to capture the essence of the work and to convey to an editor why they should
be excited to read it.

Next I spend
a solid amount of time pulling together my list of editors, and I research
recent developments to make sure that these folks’ interests haven’t shifted.
Then I get on the phone and start calling, and pitch the book to the editor. I
then follow up with a well-crafted email that includes a bit more about the
book and the author, and attach the manuscript, the synopsis and the bio.

QBF: About what percentage of books that you
submit to publishers actually get accepted?

Marie: Great
question! I’ll never have the answer to that one – because this is a subjective
business and it’s impossible to know which books will be snapped up immediately
and which ones may not find a home. I believe that everything I send out is
compelling and of high quality, but if the market is starting to move away from
an element in a book or an editor has something in the pipeline that feels a
bit too similar or they, for some reason, just don’t fully connect with a
project, editors may pass.

I do think
it’s important as a writer to know that your agent will do everything possible
to find a home for your work, but getting an agent doesn’t guarantee a book
deal.

QBF: Is there any book (or books) that come to
mind that taught you something about the publishing industry, and what did it
teach you?

Marie: Good
question! For me, success in this industry really rests in writing a
well-crafted book. So I tend to read books about the writing craft, more than
about the industry. One of my very favorites as a writer and an agent is Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by
Donald Maass. It breaks down how books can fail when it comes to plotting and
structure and tension, etc. And it includes ways to fix these elements. Knowing
these elements helps me spot weaknesses in works.

And I’ve
found it pays to listen to what editors say to me when they do pass on a
client’s work. Sometimes these comments point to issues in the manuscript that
can be revisited, and sometimes we’ve been able to address these issues in a
revision, send it back out into the marketplace and seal some really sweet
deals.

Put "Query" in the subject line of your email, and
please send the first twenty pages in the body of your email (no attachments),
along with a one-paragraph bio and a one-paragraph synopsis within your query
letter.For her full submission
guidelines see here.

Author Jennifer Mook-Sang

Brian Henry will lead Writing for Children & for Young
Adult workshops on Saturday, May 13, in Caledon
at the Bolton Library with Yasemin Uçar, senior Editor at Kids Can Press and
author Jennifer Mook-Sang (see here), on
Saturday, May 27, in St. Catharines with Anne Shone, senior editor at
Scholastic Books (see here), and on
Saturday, July 29, in Collingwood with literary agent Monica Pacheco (see here).

Note: For
updated listings of Writing for Children & for Young adult workshops and
for weekly Kid lit classes, seehere(and
scroll down).

And don't miss the June
in Algonquin Writing Retreat, Friday, June
2 – Sunday, June 4 or Monday, June 5, at Arowhon Pines Resort. Details here.

Other upcoming workshops include:“You can
write great dialogue,”Saturday,
June 10 in Guelph, with author Hannah McKinnon, (seehere) and
Saturday, July 22, in London (seehere) and “How
to Write Great Characters,” Saturday, June 17 in
Burlington (seehere).

Author Hannah McKinnon

This summer Brian will be
leading three creative writing courses, introductory to advanced:

Navigation tips:Always
check out the labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct
collections of postings. Also, if you're searching for a literary agent who
represents a particular type of book, check out this
post.

Note: You can also attend this workshop on Saturday, July 22, in London. See here.

Accessible to beginnersand meaty enough for
experienced writers, this workshop will show you how to use dialogue to
make your stories more dynamic and dramatic.Whether
you’re writing fiction or memoir, you need to be able to write great dialogue
that both sounds natural and packs dramatic punch, and you need to know how to
mix your dialogue and narrative so that your characters come alive. Come
to this workshop and learn both the basics and the best tricks of the trade.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has
been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He
publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for
writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops
everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to St. John. But his
proudest boast is that he has helped many of
his students get published.

Read a review of "How to write
great dialogue" here.
For more reviews of Brian's weekly courses and Saturday workshops seehereandscroll down.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

A Family Matter is Chris Laing's third novel in this post-WWII
mystery series featuring Max Dexter and Isabel O’Brien.

Max’s mother returns to Hamilton after an
absence of twenty-some years. Max is not anxious to meet with her – why should
he be after she’d abandoned him as a child? But a bigger question looms: is she
involved in an internal mob war now heating up and about to explode?

If you can't make the book launch, A Family Matter is available through Chapters / Indigo here. and the two other Max Dexter mysteries, A deadly Venture and A Private Man, plus Chris's short story collection, West End Kid: Tales from the Forties, are available here.

Brian Henry has been a book editor, writer, and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches creative writing at Ryerson University. He also leads weekly creative writing courses in Burlington, Mississauga, Oakville and Georgetown and conducts Saturday workshops throughout Ontario. His proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published.